28 9 / 2009
28 September 2009
I’m trying to get used to the “real” way of writing dates (lol, another petty adjustment) so I don’t mess up on something big in the future :P
Today, some friends and I walked to the school for “induction,” aka 45 minutes of people talking to us about general information about LSE and the students’ union. I have never been to an orientation this huge. It included study abroad students as well as the first-years (aka freshers). The incoming class consists of over 1,000 people along with 300 study abroad students - it was pretty insane.
We did a mini campus tour (lol their tour guides SUCK majorly, SMITH COLLEGE GOLD KEY REPRESENT!) and got to walk around and wander for a bit. The campus is really small and LITERALLY contains like 4 bars and a bunch of cafes. That makes me lol so hard on the inside. People were just chillin’ outside of cafes and downing pints with their lunches.
So far, I really like the Brits’ emphasis on social interaction. At the “induction” we were spoken to about how having a healthy social life is extremely important for our overall development, along with succeeding at university. I don’t think I’ve ever been told, “go out and have fun at night!” by anyone in the US. We procrastinate all day, complain about how much work we have 24/7, and then end up with mountains of homework at night. Granted, we have a LOT more class time and general everyday work to keep up with. It is so different here - people seem to not talk about schoolwork in the way Americans do, even though they study hard on their own time. Even at a challenging/prestigious institution like LSE, the social aspect of students’ lives is emphasized.
At Smith I always feel so guilty about going out when I “should” be studying. I love the work hard/play hard atmosphere at this school, and in the country in general… just not sure if I can handle it yet :X
